


Cessation

by Devlyne



Series: Conversations [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Mild Language, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post Captain America Civil War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 05:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14731166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devlyne/pseuds/Devlyne
Summary: Tony's nicknames went a little too far and irritated people. Bucky deals with the fall out.





	Cessation

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for being away for so long, but as I said in the last part, work has been busy. I hope you enjoy this part. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.

Three weeks; for the last three weeks Bucky had heard a never ending string of nicknames, each more ridiculous than the last. When Tony promised that he would find a suitable superhero name, something other than Winter Soldier, Bucky thought it was cute; it wasn’t any more. Clint and Rhodey still snickered at the more outlandish ones but more and more Steve had that pinched look whenever he was around for it. The entire thing had come to a head when Steve had snapped at Tony over it and the engineer hid himself away in the workshop. None of the team had seen Tony in almost five days. It was peaceful, quiet and for the first day Bucky had been on edge waiting for Tony to pop up with more nicknames. When that hadn’t happened, he’d relaxed, enjoying the quiet. By the time the third day rolled around a nagging sense of guilt had taken root. Tony was being irritating, yes, but he’d meant well.

It was for that reason that Bucky now stood in front of the blacked out workshop doors, gazing at them. He hadn’t tried his door code yet to see if the engineer had blocked his access; part of him too afraid to. They’d been on the verge of something but now he felt wrong-footed and uncertain. Maybe he had imagined that they were on the verge of something; maybe Tony hadn’t felt the same way. He almost certainly didn’t now. Bucky’s hands were tucked in to his jeans pockets as he fidgeted a bit, swaying slightly in indecision. It would be easy enough to turn back and let the elevator take him away from this. Tony would get over it in a few days; never mind that it had already been almost a week.

“Barnes,” The voice tinny, echoing slightly in the hallway, “In or out, you’re making FRIDAY nervous.”

He glanced up at the camera hidden in the corner before pressing forward toward the doors. They slid open to give him a view of Tony sitting at one of his work tables, covered in grease and looking like he hadn’t slept. Bucky’s shoulders slumped at the sight; it was Tony’s doing, yes, but he should have checked on the man sooner. After all, the engineer’s ability to wallow in guilt was legendary. Neither man moved once Bucky stopped inside the doors. Tony wasn’t looking up at him and Bucky couldn’t help but stare.

“Hey. Yeah, sorry about makin’ …Friday… nervous. Wasn’t sure …” Bucky trailed off; his hand freeing itself from his jeans pocket to rub at the back of his neck. “You okay? You haven’t been upstairs much an’ y’know how Stevie gets when I blurt out random things. Kinda missed havin’ someone to bounce them off of.”

“Lots of work; SI stuff. You know how it is; Pepper always needs me.” Tony wouldn’t look up at him as he spoke but he never stopped moving. His hands were always moving over tools or sending screens zipping this way and that as he worked. “Besides, thought you weren’t doing that much anymore; the random comment thing.”

“Comes back when I get nervous, y’know?” 

At that, Tony swiveled toward him on the stool. “Huh. I’d have thought it would be better now that I wasn’t pestering and nagging you so much.”

Bucky couldn’t help the wince at those words. They weren’t his, not exactly, but Steve had used them when he’d snapped. And Bucky hadn’t exactly corrected Steve when he’d attributed them to him. He hated that Tony had been hurt by what happened, wished he’d never said anything to Steve, but it didn’t change that the name thing had been irritating. He was drawn from his thoughts by the squeak of the stool turning and Tony speaking again, though the man’s voice had lowered.

“I get it, you know. I’m all in, always doing big things when something small would work. Big bunny for Christmas; let me tell you, that didn’t go over well.” Tony had turned back to his work, his hands flying over the screens and tools as he spoke. “Just didn’t realize it bothered you that much. I don’t see things like that all the time; don’t realize that I’m upsetting people. Or sometimes I do and then I just want to poke them harder, push them farther. Sometimes I just want to watch whoever it is explode; you see the real them then.” 

He swiveled toward Bucky then, so that he could see the man’s face. “That wasn’t what I was doing to you, just so you know. I just…I wanted to find you a really cool name, you know? Something that would make you…want to be a superhero.” Tony shrugged at that and then swiveled away again. “I went overboard, won’t happen again. Sorry about that, Barnes. And don’t worry about it, we’re cool.”

Bucky ran a hand over his face at that, scrubbing at the faint stubble of his beard. He was back to being Barnes which actually made the churning guilt in his stomach far worse. He had been irritated with the situation but not angry, not upset like Steve had been. Steve always found a reason to be upset with Tony; he’d learned that in the first few months they’d lived here. This was just one more reason that Tony was unreasonable to Steve. It wasn’t always like that and sometimes finding out what would set Steve off was like walking in a minefield. Tony, by comparison, was fairly easy to figure out. 

“I think about it, you know.” Tony’s voice was soft as he spoke up. He must have seen the confusion on Bucky’s face, because he elaborated with a soft, “Siberia.” 

That was something that Bucky most certainly didn’t want to think about and it made his heart sink to know that Tony had been all this time. He really must have been imagining being on the verge of something with the man if Siberia still occupied his thoughts. His metal hand clenched, teeth set on edge by the topic but he said nothing, waiting to see if Tony would go on. Sometimes it was best to just let the man talk; let him get it all out in the open.

“Everyone came back and it was just supposed to be put behind us. Everything that happened leading up to that moment was just not supposed to mean anything. So I pretended it didn’t. At least, out there, with them, I pretended it didn’t.” It was hard to place how Tony sounded; sorrowful, weary and maybe just a little bit angry. “They didn’t though. It’s always held against me, even if it’s not said. I didn’t side with them, with you, and they remember it while I’m supposed to forget, not supposed to hold it against them. Rogers holds it against me every day in everything I do. He pretends he doesn’t, but he does. They all do.” 

“I tried, you know, to hate you. I tried to be angry. Once rationality kicked in, I realized that while they were your hands, it wasn’t your fault. And I watched them, Rogers especially, treat you like you were glass while you were trying to reach out and find your own way.” Tony barked out a humorless laugh. “I couldn’t help myself; felt like we were kindred spirits. I know, it sounds weird to me too, but I did. I felt like out of everyone, you would understand. Then I started, of all things, liking you. You’re okay, you know? I don’t mind you. Hell. I even like you a bit.” His smile was bitter. “So I go overboard trying to show it and I messed everything up. That’s what I do. So…whatever you came down to say; I get it. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

Bucky looked heavenward for strength then took a step forward. “You done?” His tone a bit stern and voice a bit gravelly as he closed the distance between them. “Good. You were irritatin’, that I’ll give ya, poppin’ up everywhere with those damned nicknames, but you didn’t do anythin’ wrong. Ain’t sayin’ I want you to go back to doing it.” He stopped a foot or so away from Tony’s stool, arms folding over his chest. “If they’re still thinkin’ on that, judgin’ you on that, fuck’em. The people who care about you ain’t; me, Rhodes, Miss Potts, and plenty of others. What happened back then, Siberia n’all that, even the stuff I wasn’t there for, it was bad, but s’done now. Don’t forget it, but move forward. Me? I don’t care about that. I care about the guy who answers my random thoughts. Who thinks that Metal Mauler is a good name for a superhero. Who mixes confetti arrows in to Barton’s quiver now and then. That guy’s pretty swell.”

“Oh god, did you just say swell? Please tell me you didn’t just call me swell. News flash, Barnes, the forties called and they want their slang back. Try awesome or cool or hot…I’ll settle for hot.”

“There’s the snarky bastard we all know an’ love.” Bucky’s arms unfolded, loosening so that his posture wasn’t so defensive. “I’ll have you know that in my day, being called swell was a big deal.”

“Hey, no, I’ll have you know I knew who both my parents were!” Tony was gesticulating wildly now, his hands moving until finally he poked Bucky in the chest. Neither had really noticed the engineer standing up until that moment. “Uh, that is…” His hands were held out in front of him, palms facing Bucky as he stepped back. “Wow. You really do work out a lot. I mean, solid wall of muscle there, Barnes, solid wall.” He gave a whistle at that.  


Bucky grunted, before saying, “Bucky-bear.” 

“What?” The other man had gone stock still, hands still held out in front of him.

“I hate it when y’call me Barnes. I don’t like it, makes me feel…like we took a step back or somethin’.” He shrugged at that, looking down at his arms, at the floor, anywhere but at Tony. “Not goin’ to say I’m overly fond of Bucky-bear either. Sounds like some kid’s toy, but…I like it better than Barnes.” 

“M’kay.” 

Well this had gotten entirely uncomfortable; Tony’s hand was rubbing at the back of his head now. At least he wasn’t holding his hands out in that placating gesture any more. It was better though still not good enough. There were dark lines visible beneath Tony’s eyes and his hair was mussed in that hadn’t been washed way. He, in short, looked terrible. A glance around the work shop revealed empty cups that probably had been used to hold protein shakes and coffee mugs set in random places. They had gotten off track concerning the reason Bucky had come down, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

“Look, Tony, why don’t you come upstairs? Take a nap; get a shower, not necessarily in that order, and then me and you’ll go get a burger. You can run some bad superhero names by me so I can tell you no. What do ya say?”

The hesitation was clear on the Tony’s face before his shoulders finally slumped. “Yeah, yeah, I can use some sleep. Just a couple of hours though, okay? I don’t want you sitting around starving while you wait for me. I know how you super soldiers are.” 

“I’ll just order a pizza and eat it while I wait. Still have room for dinner.” Bucky shrugged to that, not giving Tony the chance to say no. His hand planted firmly between the man’s shoulders, giving him a shove toward the door. If that hand happened to linger a bit longer than it should, Tony didn’t mention it. “Come on, shower, and then bed.”

FRIDAY was at least on Bucky’s side as the elevator doors slipped open and she made a show of shutting down the lights and screens in the lab. He didn’t move his hand from Tony’s back until the elevator doors were closed, finally letting it drop away. It was quiet, awkward almost for the first minute or two until Tony turned to look up at him, tucking his hands in his jeans pockets.

“You know…” Tony’s head tipped slightly, indicating he was thinking about it. “Winter Soldier’s not a bad name for a superhero. Might be good for you to reclaim it from them, make it your own. T’challa said his people call you White Wolf; that’s not bad either.”

“Stevie cringes when anyone calls me Winter or Winter Soldier. Not sure I can take watching him practically hit th’deck every time someone uses it.” His shoulder lifted and fell to that, hand going to his metal arm, letting his fingertips move over it. “Maybe I don’t need a name, y’know?”

“So what, we’re going to call you Bucky?” Tony’s nose wrinkled in disgust, but he shrugged lightly. Why not? If that was what Bucky wanted, then that was okay.

“Naw, I don’t know. Not sure I’m ready to be a superhero. I mean, I could just be support for your missions. That’s good enough, right? At least y’d know you have someone watchin’ your back”

Tony snorted softly, bumping his shoulder against Bucky’s. “No one’s ever ready to be a superhero. If they say they are, they’re lying. It just happens. It’ll happen to you too or…maybe it won’t. And that’s okay too.” 

“Yeah, tryin’ to get Stevie to understand that. He wants the old gang back together, kickin’ ass and takin’ names. I’m not ready for that. Don’t mean I don’t want to help sometimes…like a couple of weeks ago, wasn’t leaving you out there like that; not when I could do somethin’.” He sighed softly at the thought, and then looked to Tony. “Stevie’s always talking about how great it’ll be when the two of us are out there together, watching each other’s backs. I don’t need that spotlight. Right now, I’m still tryin’ to piece myself back together. But, that don’t mean I won’t be there when the team needs me.”

“Well of course it doesn’t. Look…I’d offer to talk to Steve, but we both know he won’t listen to me. Maybe you should say something to Romanov or Barton; they could probably get him to listen. Romanov especially is pretty good at bending Roger’s ear.”

“Don’t want to start a fight or nothin’.” Bucky frowned at that, looking down at Tony, then back at the elevator doors. “Got enough fightin’ going on for the space we’re in.”

“Hey. Hey hey hey. This is not a small tower. There is plenty of space to have lots of fights in! Believe me; I’ve tried to fill it with fights. No, wait…” Tony’s hands were moving again as he spoke; he turned in a circle as if to emphasize how big the elevator was. “I mean people; I’ve tried to fill it with people. Who fight me. A lot.”

There was a chuckle building in Bucky’s chest as he watched. “Tony, doll, you’re exhausted. It’s cute, but if you could hear yourself right now…” 

“Cute?!” Tony sputtered in mock outrage. “No, Sno-cone, I am not cute! I am hot, smokin’ flamin’ hot. Say it with me. H-ot. It’s not that hard.”

“Adorable. Sweet. Fluffy.” Bucky grinned as he said it. “Cute, as a button even.”

“Oh, no, no. That’s it. This is war. War I tell you.” And there went Tony’s hands flying all over the place then as he tried to defend his honor. 

They got a few strange looks as the Elevator slid open at the penthouse level. Most of the team was sitting around in what looked to be an impromptu meeting in the bar lounge. Every eye was on them as Bucky put his hand between Tony’s shoulders and gently pushed him out of the elevator and toward the hallway leading to his rooms. The entire time both men still bickering back and forth over whether or not Tony was hot or cute. It was a strange sight, but a welcome one; Bucky could see relief lining several team member’s faces. After Tony had disappeared, promising war again, down the hallway, he turned to the others.

“Is he okay?” Natasha was the first to speak up.

Bucky shook his head. “No. He ain’t. He’s going to get a shower n’a nap. We’re gettin’ burgers later.” His arms folded across his chest in that defensive posture. “Look. I know none of us forgot what happened…Siberia…” Here he caught Steve’s eye a moment, “and even before that. You all want him to let it go but he don’t feel like you’re lettin’ it go. And to be honest with ya, I don’t think you’re letting it go either. So here’s how it’s going to go. It happened. It’s over. Let it go. I see any of ya snapping at Tony over little shit that don’t matter and I’ll be the one snapping back.” His hand snapped up, in Steve’s direction, palm out. “Shut it, Stevie. You’re listenin’ now.”

When he was certain that Steve wouldn’t interrupt him, Bucky continued. “We all have done things wrong; we’ve all had things blow up in our faces. Yeah, some of what Tony did was pretty big. Some of what Stevie and Nat did was pretty big too. You aren’t all snappin’ at them. You don’t snap at Bruce, ‘cause that’d be suicide, because of his part in things. Stop heapin’ it all on Tony. We’re here, got to work together, and got to figure this mess out before something bigger and messier comes along. Stevie, I don’t need you defending my honor. Yeah, I was irritated, but that’s between me and Tony. I got this. Time was, he was your friend, and none of you seem to have much problem usin’ his money. So, if you can’t let it go, you better bury it so deep I never see it. ‘Cause as of now, I’m calling a cessation of hostilities. They cease, or I get hostile. Got it?”

For his part, Steve looked like he’d been punched in the gut. The good news was that almost made him quiet, made him not argue at the moment. Oh, no doubt there would be a huge argument later, but for now he was quiet. He was listening, at least. That was something new and something Bucky was grateful his old friend at least seemed to be partly learning.

“Anyway,” Everyone leaned forward a bit, to show they were listening to him, “I’m ordering pizza from that place that Nat likes. Who wants what?” 

And just like that, the conversation was over and the collective breath that had been held was released.


End file.
